Atsushi grew up in Shiratsuka — a modest Kanagawa town caught between mountains and sea — dreaming of football. What he found instead was a longboard, a Joel Tudor DVD, and a growing unease with Tokyo's commuter lifestyle.
After years on the shop floor at Gap, his decision became simple: this wasn't the life for him. So at 26, he quit, moved to Hawaii, and started again. California followed. Then, eventually, Danang — where he's been for six years with no intention of leaving.
In conversation with Steve, Atsushi reflects on salaryman culture, the peculiar loneliness of ticking every box, and why Vietnam's surf scene reminds him of 1960s California. He also offers practical counsel on when to visit and how to surf the country without disappointment.
He has always chosen the harder road. It has yet to let him down.
Find Atsushi at The Surf Shack Danang.
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